3.18.2008
Llewellyn and Advanced Pagan Books
If there is a 500 lb gorilla of the Pagan/metaphysical publishing world it has to be Llewellyn Worldwide. Formed in 1901 as a publisher of books and annuals of astrology, the company now boasts yearly gross sales of over 16 million, and has recently moved to an 80,000 square foot complex in Woodbury, Minnesota. A quick look at the selections of most book-sellers (mainstream or occult) will show shelves dominated by the Llewellyn moon logo on the spines.
Despite this success (or perhaps because of it) there has been an increasingly loud groundswell of criticism towards the company. One common complaint is that the company constantly re-hashes basic introductory (or "101") material and rarely provides "advanced" literature for the more experienced practitioners. Now Carl Llewellyn Weschcke, president and owner of Llewellyn Worldwide, has come forward to say he agrees with those dissatisfied by the company's output.
"Where are the Advanced Books? We hear this question as a complaint. People say there are mostly 101 books available and too few 202 and 303 books. And as a publisher I agree with the question and the complaint. I want to see more advanced books. I want to read and study more advanced books. I want to sell more advanced books. I want our community to have more advanced books."
He then asks people to e-mail him directly and suggest what sorts of "advanced" books they would like to read. For some critics of the publisher, this may seem too good to be true. The owner asking for direct input on advanced titles? Is there a catch? The answer is, yes, there is a catch.
"...please, don't confuse things. 'Advanced' books are not to be confused with history books, or memoirs ... 'Advanced' books, in my personal opinion, are 'specialty' books dealing with what I call 'Esoteric Technology,' and others have called 'technology of the sacred,' 'techniques of ecstasy,' 'ascension,' etc. All deal with 'becoming more than you are' through an acceleration of a natural evolutionary process."
So the recently published biography of celebrated Craft author and teacher Stewart Farrar, or the recent memoir by Alexandrian 'Witch Queen' Maxine Sanders, while most likely illuminating to any advanced student, wouldn't count as "advanced". Likewise, scholarly books on Wiccan or Druidic history by authors like Ronald Hutton or Chas Clifton, shouldn't be confused with the "advanced" label either. Finally, groundbreaking books exploring Pagan theology don't meet the very specific requirements of "advanced" proposed here.
What Weschcke wants are books exploring "Esoteric Technology", or to put it another way, books on magic and magical techniques
For me, and I suspect for others, modern Paganism is primarily a religious movement. It is about reverence, fellowship, respect, joy, and connection. Magic (and related "technologies") can, and have, been a part of that for me to differing degrees over the years. That said, the longer I journey this path, the more I value works that deepen and challenge my spiritual understanding. This isn't to say I can't learn more in the area of "sacred technologies", or that many Pagans wouldn't welcome such works, only that "advanced" isn't something that should be isolated to the "how", and should also explore the "why" and the "where" (not to mention the "what" and the "who").
* If Weschcke is serious about exploring all "eight paths to the center", then I look forward to books on the use of mind-altering substances and entheogens in the coming years.
Labels: books, Carl Llewellyn Weschcke, Llewellyn, Magic, Magick, Paganism
2.25.2008
Bonewits Teaming With Witch School to Build "Real Magic School"
Author, Archdruid Emeritus of the ADF, and "polytheologian" Isaac Bonewits is opening his own online school on February 29th. The new online learning institution, Real Magic School, claims to offer "certain answers to a mysterious subject."
"Real Magic School, named after Bonewits first groundbreaking book, begins with a purposeful program of study that offers a pathway to an Associates degree in Magic. Further, the school begins immediately the process to seek academic accreditation, a process that is both difficult and demanding but according to the school founders, worthwhile. P.E. Isaac Bonewits has chosen to take his degree, his lifetime of experience, and his driving energy to create an academy that is truly a benefit to its students and future alumni. This will be a life changing experience for everyone who gets involved."
The new school has been built for Bonewits by Witch School, one of the oldest and largest (and some might say controversial) online schools aimed at teaching magic. Real Magic School isn't the first online magic school to be built around a charismatic Pagan "headmaster", Oberon Zell-Ravenheart's Grey School of Wizardry comes immediately to mind, though it does seem to be aiming for a more academic feel while trying to avoid Harry Potter comparisons.
"While the Harry Potter Phenomenon swept the world and has offered a fictional view of a Magical Academy, Isaac is not Dumbledore and Real Magic School is not Hogwarts. Real Magic School is definitely real world and has a truly academic and educational philosophy unmatched in today's world. Isaac Bonewits is a serious teacher, along with Phaedra, with lifelong experience, and is one of the most respected voices in the Pagan world today calling for academic truth and excellence in the study of magic and thaumaturgy, history, and Paganism."
It should be interesting to see where this goes. Does an online school with only two teachers (so far) have a real shot at gaining academic accreditation? If they did gain some form of educational accreditation would any mainstream college or institution accept transfer credits from Real Magic School? Real Magic School's web site doesn't have any course information up yet, so we will just have to wait and see what sort of curriculum is planned.
Labels: Grey School of Wizardry, Isaac Bonewits, Magic, Paganism, Real Magic School, schools, Witch School
2.24.2008
Starhawk on Obama's Magic
The Washington Post's "On Faith" blog asks its panelists to weigh in on if presidential candidate Barack Obama elicits "religious fervor" among his followers. Pagan author and activist Starhawk's response is that Obama is casting a "good and needed spell".
"If politicians hired Witches or magicians as consultants, we'd tell them that your deep mind responds to positive words and images, and doesn't get 'no' ... Magically speaking, then, Obama is casting a good spell. Whether he wins or loses, he's filling the psychic and emotional atmosphere with words like 'healing' and 'hope'. The effect is like a clean breeze blowing through a morass of stinking, noxious fumes. People want to believe, because they like the way he makes them feel about themselves ... Obama evokes some powerfully appealing archetypes. Think of all those myths and fairy tales about the humble-seeming outsider who turns out to be the true king, throwing out the corrupt rulers and restoring health and healing. We're a contradictory people - we love underdogs, while we despise losers - but there's nothing we love more than the little guy who comes from behind and beats all the odds to win the pennant."
Starhawk also takes some time to advise Hillary Clinton to drop the experienced "responsible mom" meme she has been spreading as part of her campaign, stop attacking Obama on issues of "faith and trust", and go the route of the visionary instead.
"In the contest of archetypes, women are at a disadvantage, facing a deep, unconscious sexism that limits our collective imagination ... if I were Hillary Clinton's campaign advisor, I'd tell her, stay away from that archetype. Responsible Mom is not going to win over Aragorn the Exiled King. Instead, I would urge, be Joan of Arc. Find your vision, and be so passionately driven by it that you would stand forth and challenge kings and armies. Show us your courage, which we know you have. Tell us 'I stood forth and went into realms where few women dared to go, because I care so deeply about the welfare of all of us.'"
As the March 4th primaries approach, it remains to be seen if Obama's "magic spell" will hold out, or if Clinton will be able to break through with her own visionary message. But win or lose, it seems apparent that Obama's "good and needed spell" will continue to resonate, and like all primal archetypal magic, may change the Democratic party, and America, more deeply than we may realize now.
Labels: archetypes, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Magic, On Faith, politics, Presidential election, Starhawk
1.30.2008
(Pagan) News of Note
My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.
GenQ Music interviews author, Witch, and reality television star Fiona Horne about her latest album "Witch Web".
"I wrote the album with Paul Searles initially with the only intention being to record the songs that I personally sing in my witchy rituals. Often when doing public rituals I would sing acapella and people would ask if it was possible to buy a recording of it - now it is! But when Paul and I got in the studio we also realised we were starting to write songs that had a commercial feel and classic song arrangement, so we are happy that the album crosses over and can be enjoyed by people interested in the spiritual side as well as people who just want a chilled listening experience."
Horne started her musical career as a singer for the dance-rock band Def FX. To listen to samples from "Witch Web" check out her MySpace page.
Ohio State University's student paper, The Lantern, takes a look at interest in the occult on campus and discovers that OSU is the academic capital for magic in the United States.
"'Ohio State has more scholars on the history of magic than any educational institution I'm aware of,' said Sarah Iles Johnston, professor of Greek and Latin and director for the Center for the Study of Religion. There are six experts on the history of magic at OSU. They study the history of magic from a variety of perspectives such as its role in ancient Greek and Roman religions as well as in modern American culture."
OSU recently hosted a lecture series to capitalize on their expertise entitled: "Through a Glass, Darkly: Public Interest in the Occult". So for you Pagan high-school seniors trying to decide where to go for college, Ohio might be just the place for you (if your interested in studying magic that is).
Treadwells and Lastal both report that experimental media artist Raymond Salvatore Harmon will present seven films in honor of the 100 year anniversary of the union of Leila Waddell and Aleister Crowley.
"Experimental media artist Raymond Salvatore Harmon will present a live improvised set of 7 films. Each based on the individual rituals in British occultist Aleister Crowley's Rites of Eleusis, first presented in Caxton Hall, London in 1910. Crowley based the rituals of Rites of Eleusis on each of the seven classical planets of antiquity - "Saturn", "Jupiter", "Mars", "Sol" (the Sun), "Venus", "Mercury" and "Luna". Utilizing the entire text of Crowley's rites as subliminal content Harmon will improvise the abstract layers of imagery to a prepared score. Presented in a 3 channel video environment Rites of Eleusis promises to be an updated public occult ritual for the 21st century."
The performance will take place on Friday March 7th at The Horse Hospital (an arts venue) in London.
Classics professor Mary Beard bemoans the proposed removal of Britannia (the personification of the United Kingdom) from British coins.
"Britannia fits the bill rather nicely. An appropriately antique goddess, invented by the Romans, as a symbol of their new province, and used on British coins since the seventeenth century. If she goes, I don't hold out much hope, long term, for that nice bit of Virgil (decus et tutamen -- from Aeneid Book V) around the pound coin. I have a sneaking suspicion that Mr Brown isn't much of a fan of Latin."
Will it be bad luck to remove Britain's goddess from their coinage? Will she eventually join America's Columbia as a half-forgotten relic from a grander time?
The Boston Globe publishes a visitors guide to Salem, Massachusetts that illustrates just how tied to witchcraft their tourism is.
"Witches put Salem on the Colonial map, and this historic North Shore city has its share of creepy and comical tributes to the practice of witchcraft. Magic supplies, herbal potions, tarot cards, "spell baskets," custom-made capes - you'll find them all here ... Salem is loaded with museums, many of them funny-spooky places that document the city's witchcraft history. Among them are the Witch History Museum, the Witch Dungeon Museum, the Salem Witch Museum, the Salem Wax Museum, the Spellbound Museum, Salem's Museum of Myths & Monsters, the New England Pirate Museum, and Salem's 13 Ghosts..."
So despite those who wish to de-emphasize Salem's "witchy" appeal, the town remains the "Witch City" of the east coast.
In a final note, a proposal has come forth on the Non-Fluffy Pagans community concerning a new "law" involving discussion about Witchcraft and society. An adage that some are calling the Witches' equivalent to Godwin's Law.
"In any discussion of the interaction of modern witches with the rest of society, as the length of the discussion increases, the probability of the mention of The Burning Times approaches unity."
With the new law comes a proposed corollary:
"In any argument related to modern witchcraft, the first person to mention The Burning Times automatically loses the argument."
The new law has been dubbed "Brock's Law" after the author.
That is all I have for now, have a great day!
Labels: academia, Aleister Crowley, art, Britannia, Brock's Law, Fiona Horne, Magic, Mary Beard, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Salem, The Burning Times, UK, Witchcraft
8.08.2007
The Spread of Witchcraft
The resurgence of European-based religious Witchcraft (or Wicca) isn't the only form of modernized folk religion to spread around the world and grow in popularity. Magical traditions and witchcraft(s) have also come to America from Mexico and the Caribbean. Two recent stories have emerged that remind us that Witchcraft is global and creating tensions within both Christian and secular society as it grows. This first concerns the town of Catemaco in southern Mexico (the Mexican equivalent to Salem) where the booming tourist trade of Brujos and shamans are spurring the Catholic Church into waging a spiritual campaign against the practitioners.
"Thanks to this bustling trade in mysticism, Catemaco is Mexico's unofficial capital of all things occult. It also presents a unique challenge for and competition to the Catholic Church. For decades, the church has waged a campaign against "brujeria," or witchcraft, in Veracruz, a state along the Gulf of Mexico. In recent years the church has issued declarations and even put a cross on the top of White Monkey Peak, a nearby hilltop used by shamans as a ceremonial center."
But despite the Church's claims of rampant fraud and extortion, the occult is becoming ever-more mainstream in the Catemaco due in part to the city's reliance on the tourist trade it brings.
"Despite these scams, the tradition of witchcraft, which predates Catholicism in Mexico, persists ... Today, while tourists are the main customers, many residents still go to shamans for routine cleansings and good-luck amulets. An even greater challenge is economics: Brujeria means big bucks. The Veracruz government dubbed the region "the Land of Witches" in a recent tourism campaign, and a massive, festive "black mass" is held each first Friday of March. The state governor often attends. "It's our way of life; there are no companies here," said Norberto Baxin Mantilla, known to customers as "the Black Unicorn." "There are hundreds of witches and shamans. It's a source of income." Baxin's work space, located in his house, is adorned with posters of skeletons and statues of "La Santa Muerte," the incarnation of death, a skeletal figure that has spawned a growing cult in Mexico in recent years. The hood of his silver Camaro also bears the grim-reaperlike image of Santa Muerte."
In the end it seems that (spiritually speaking) money talks, and since the Catholic Church can't spur tourist income for this region, the Witches, shamans, and other magical practitioners are finding mainstream acceptance (and government approval) by filling that gap. But the (sometimes shady) monetary ethics of Witchcraft in the global south don't always play well in America, as seen in a recent case of a school Principal in New York who is catching heat for hiring a Santera to "cleanse" her school.
"A principal at a high school in Lower Manhattan had heard the jokes about using a "sage," or spiritual guru, to perform a "cleansing" of the building to counteract misbehaving students. The principal took the jokes seriously - performing a Santeria ceremony during the school's midwinter break in 2006, according to a report released today by the special commissioner of investigation for the New York City public schools. One day last winter, the principal, Martiza Tamayo, told an assistant principal, Melody Crooks-Simpson, that she had a friend who could do just that. Ms. Tamayo promised that the friend "could burn sage and incense in the school and it would calm the students down," according to the report."
The ritual (which included the sprinkling of chicken blood on the building) apparently went fine until the principal convinced the reluctant assistant principal that she must come to a follow-up ritual and then demanded $900 for "her share" of the fees. That and a general misappropriation of funds involving the Santera (which included paying her as a private driver for some students) has caused the local Department of Education to remove Martiza Tamayo from her position. There is no word on if the fiscal misdealing was all Tamayo's doing, or if the Santera was directly involved as well.
While neither of these stories are going to be heralded as PR coups for Santeria or Brujeria, both stories illustrate the slow mainstreaming of these traditions and practices. One wonders how this will affect Wicca and other European-based forms of Witchcraft as they start to interact and co-exist in greater numbers. Eventually the maxim that "not all Witches are Wiccans" will be all but unavoidable.
Labels: Brujeria, Catemaco, Catholicism, Magic, Mexico, Santeria, Wicca, Witchcraft
1.06.2007
A Review of Three Perspectives (part three)
This is part three of a three-part series reviewing recent books on magic(k)al theory and practice. In part one I took a brief look at Taylor Ellwood's "Space/Time Magic" and "Pop Culture Magick". You can read Taylor's rebuttal to my review (and my subsequent comments) in the comments of that entry. In part two I reviewed Lupa's book "Fang and Fur Blood and Bone: A Primal Guide to Animal Magic", today I will focus on Ross G.H. Shott's book "The Dark Arts of Immortality: Transformation Through War, Sex, & Magic".
If Ellwood's magic is concerned with expanding your perceptions in hopes of discovering your "true potential", and Lupa's magic is concerned with connecting with the primal forces on this earth, then Shott's is dedicated to glorification of the self (with the ultimate goal of self-deification). "The Dark Arts of Immortality" is a manual of Left-Handed or "black" magic given a Pagan (Germanic Heathen to be precise) slant. This is not to insult Shott, he proudly claims his philosophical and spiritual heritage throughout the book. Prominent Satanists/Setians Anton LaVey, Stephen Flowers (aka Edred Thorsson), and Don Webb are quoted in addition to favored thinkers of Left-Hand path philosophy like Friedrich Nietzsche and Aleister Crowley.
Shott's book claims to give you the tools to achieve Godhood. To him the "Left-Handed" path is the only logical path an "awakened" person who wants to evolve could take. He attributes "Right-Handed" paths as leading into the worst aspects of Christian dualism (or at best muddled sublimation of the self), though he doesn't seem to notice the false dichotomy he creates in setting up his definitions of these two paths. As someone who adheres to a polytheist outlook on the world, I get nervous when anyone boils everything down to one of two choices.
The main tools within the book involve harnessing the powers of "fury" (war), "ecstasy" (sex) and "exaltation" (magic) with the ultimate goal of ascension (with an intact ego or "self"). To become in Shott's terminology a "Lord of the Left Hand Path". If such a goal is your cup of tea, then you may enjoy this book. It certainly has some glowing reviews on Amazon.com. For me personally, I don't much see the point in creating a "super-Jason" to roam the heavens, but to each their own. However, If you are looking for a primer in such things, Shott's book is an quick read with practical advice from his perspective.
So after reviewing three books on the subject, what is magic? Simply it is the directing of your will towards a goal. That goal can be self-discovery or self-exaltation. It can be earth-bound or lofty. It can be as complex as creating a new reality or (in the words of Crowley) as simple as blowing your nose. Where it goes, and how it is used all depends on your preferences and temperament.
Labels: Lupa, Magic, Magick, Paganism, Ross G.H. Shott, Taylor Ellwood
1.05.2007
A Review of Three Perspectives (part two)
This is part two of a three-part series of reviews of recent books on magic(k)al theory and practice. In part one I took a brief look at Taylor Ellwood's "Space/Time Magic" and "Pop Culture Magick". You can read Taylor's rebuttal to my review (and my subsequent comments) in the comments of that entry. Today I will focus on Lupa's book "Fang and Fur Blood and Bone: A Primal Guide to Animal Magic", but before I begin I would like to point out that all three authors being reviewed in this series have written thought-provoking books. If I didn't think so I wouldn't be reviewing them in the first place. Critical comments that I convey shouldn't be seen as any sort of judgment on their talent as writers (or magicians).
Let me begin this second review by saying that I liked Lupa's book the best of all three I will be reviewing. "Fang and Fur" is a very bare-bones (no pun intended) and sensible look at animal magic. She has a clear writing style and conveys her ideas well. She tackles some thorny issues with care and wit, and I think it may be one of the better books on this subject written for a modern Pagan audience. While not every idea there was my personal cup of tea, all in all I think it is a very successful first book. So instead of simply listing off its good points I would like to discuss two particularly controversial issues within the book: animal sacrifice and Otherkin.
First off, Otherkin. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Otherkin (as defined by Wikipedia) are people who "consider themselves non-human or having a connection to a mythical archetype in some way, usually believing to be mythological or legendary creatures." I wrote an in-depth post on the subject of Otherkin within modern Paganism last year. I wondered at the time if the Otherkin being "stranger" than your average Pagan or Heathen would eventually draw the press in the same manner that the plastic-caped Witches of Salem do.
"...as our faith(s) grow and gain the spotlight we know that it is "interesting" cases that get attention by the media. Journalists have a hard time writing stories about "normal religion". So we get a lot of coverage of the black-clad flamboyant Salem Witches, and not so much of the average practitioner living in the Midwest raising a family. Which would a reporter on a deadline prefer? A story concentrating on a local Heathen group throwing a charity event or a profile of someone who thinks they are a dragon?"
Some Otherkin felt I was being judgmental towards them, but I do think that the growing number of 'Kin in our ranks will eventually be noticed by outsiders and have to be explained in a clear sensible manner as part of a spectrum of belief within our faiths. Which brings me to Lupa's book. I felt that she tackled the issue of Otherkinism in a very diplomatic and reasoned manner that should be emulated. She makes it quite clear that there is a distinct possibility that these "inhuman" feelings could merely be constructed within her mind. She talks of totemic imprinting, the use of imagination, and even that she might be crazy (though no more crazy than the rest of the world) in addition to the theory that her soul is non-human (in her case lupine).
This is a refreshing thing to read. It is this kind of attitude that will succeed in explaining this phenomena to the general public. The fact that she is also writing a "field guide" to this subculture seems to show a growing maturity among Otherkin (a maturity I have had trouble finding when I went looking at online communities).
The second controversial topic is animal sacrifice. Again she writes a clear chapter on the merits of animal sacrifice without shying away from issues of animal abuse and factory farming. I have some pretty strong feelings on the subject, I have been a Vegan for several years (and perfectly healthy if you must know), and have a strong spiritual commitment to that choice. So it may surprise some people to know that I have no problem with compassionate sacrifice for holy rights, or slaughtering your own meat for sustenance (though neither of those paths are mine). I think that our culture has lost all perspective involving the eating of meat, and I share the horror and dread of the factory farm industry (and government's blind eye to the abuses committed) that any sensible small farmer already holds. Any action that can shock people into reawakening to where that burger comes from can only be a good thing. We have to move beyond being "thankful" for the animals we eat and move towards truly honoring the animals before they wind up processed in the grocery.
Lupa has managed to write a book that includes animal sacrifice and Otherkin that even a Pagan who has no affinity for either can enjoy. In the process she shows a way forward from contrived appropriations from Native cultures, and silly impractical ideas about animals and magic. I dare say this book comes closest to my personal practice (such as it is).
Tomorrow I will write about the third book in this series, Ross G.H. Shott's "The Dark Arts of Immortality: Transformation Through War, Sex, & Magic".
Labels: Lupa, Magic, Magick, Paganism, Ross G.H. Shott, Taylor Ellwood
1.04.2007
A Review of Three Perspectives (part one)
"Using words to describe magic is like using a screwdriver to cut roast beef" - Tom Robbins
"What is a Magical Operation? It may be defined as any event in nature which is brought to pass by Will. We must not exclude potato-growing or banking from our definition. Let us take a very simple example of a Magical Act: that of a man blowing his nose." - Aleister Crowley, Magick in Theory and Practice, Chapter XIV
I'm not much of a "magick" guy. This may be a shocking admission for someone who has been involved with religious traditions that incorporate ritual magic into their rites. I was always more interested in how faith and culture intersected, the power of story and community, and how traditions can influence people to serve something beyond their immediate interests. But like I said, my family of faiths include many for whom the practice of magic(k) is of great importance, and a mini-industry of books published on the subject have emerged in an effort to guide (or influence) these practitioners.
Recently, I have been sent books on magic(k)al practice and theory from three different authors. Each approach the subject from different angles, and I thought it would be interesting to discuss each author in a three-part series of inter-connected posts. The authors are Taylor Ellwood, author of "Space/Time Magic" and "Pop Culture Magick", Lupa, author of "Fang and Fur Blood and Bone: A Primal Guide to Animal Magic", and Ross G.H. Shott, author of "The Dark Arts of Immortality: Transformation Through War, Sex, & Magic". Each author presents a system of magical practice, and each are attempting (by their own admissions) to bring forth something new or innovative to the subject.
Taylor Ellwood is a practitioner of "Chaos Magic", a system that places great importance on paradigm shifting (or reality warping if you prefer). This school of thought tends to be individualistic and focused on personal "results". In the truest sense nothing is "sacred" (nothing is true, and everything is permitted) here except what you happen to believe is sacred at the time. Thus Ellwood in "Pop Culture Magick" has no qualms with declaring pre-Christian gods as mostly obsolete "the ancient gods are outmoded in this day and age", and instead prescribing the use of celebrities, cartoons, and other pop-culture icons as focus-points for performing magic (Though if "popularity" is an issue, shouldn't he simply use Christian iconography?).
His entire "Pop Culture Magick" book is essentially a primer on how to use these "entities" to focus your will towards attaining results (a primary theme of Chaos Magic). You enjoyment of such ideas will hinge very much on how you approach pop-culture, if the idea of using Pokemon or Miss Cleo as a focus for your will gives you hives, then this book will no doubt leave you cold (or make you laugh). Personally (as someone who is well-informed of pop-culture), I think there are some serious flaws in using these figures and themes as a basis of practice. It seems a bit too self-inflating and ignores some of the very noxious memes that are perpetrated in our patriarchal culture (even in seemingly innocent ways). But that is my personal hang-up and probably a subject for a different essay.
His other book "Space/Time Magic" deals more with shifting your view away from linear ideas of time, and instead seeing time and space and fluid concepts that can be manipulated to your benefit. This includes working magic on your past to improve your present (or future), exploring the possibilities of parallel universes, and the use of art (writing, drawing, music) as a focus towards these goals. Ellwood's ultimate goal? In his own words it is to "constantly remanifest oneself by expanding one's perception of reality and ourselves" in hopes of eventually finding out one's "true potential". Which all sounds very fascinating though the border between "remanifesting" yourself and self-delusion can be pretty thin (a point the author acknowledges).
My biggest complaint with these books as a critic is that both would have made better long essays (a point made by a reviewer on Amazon). In several cases I felt I was getting "filler" to stretch the book to the 150+ page mark. A result, no doubt, of trying crank out a new book every year. Ellwood seems to have a keen mind and some interesting ideas, but I don't feel that these books have broken too much new ground. If anything, Ellwood seems to be writing a sort of "Chaos Magic For Dummies" series, which is a shame since I think the author has a lot more to give.
Tomorrow I will discuss Lupa's book, and the issues of animal sacrifice, Otherkin, and cultural appropriation in magic.
Labels: Lupa, Magic, Magick, Paganism, Ross G.H. Shott, Taylor Ellwood
